Dishwashers using ultrasonic cleaning, while effective at cleaning, have not had great commercial success because their cleaning effect is dependent upon the transfer of the ultrasonic energy to the item being cleaned. Prior ultrasonic dishwashers relied on a liquid bath in which the utensil was submerged to ensure transmission of the ultrasonic waves through the liquid medium to the utensil. The immersion bath is not commercially viable because of the large volume of liquid required. Recontamination from the cleaning liquid is also a problem that may be encountered with traditional sonic methods.